Filebark v. U.S. Department of Transp.
| Decision Date | 31 March 2008 |
| Docket Number | Civil No. 03-1685(RJL). |
| Citation | 542 F.Supp.2d 1 |
| Parties | FILEBARK, et al., Plaintiffs, v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, et al., Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Columbia |
George Michael Chuzi, Kalijarvi, Chuzi & Newman, Washington, DC, for Plaintiffs.
Beverly Maria Russell, U.S. Attorney's Office for D.C., Washington, DC, for Defendants.
Jerry Todd ("Todd") and Richard S. Boatman ("Boatman") ("plaintiffs"), Air Traffic Control Supervisors at the Albuquerque, New Mexico Air Traffic Control Center ("Albuquerque Center" or "Center"), brought this action against the Federal Aviation Administration ("FAA") and the United States Department of Transportation ("DOT") ("defendants") seeking, in essence, a reversal of the FAA's decision regarding the air traffic control classification of the Albuquerque Center. On February 23, 2006, the Court granted in part and denied in part defendants' motion to dismiss.1 Both parties filed motions for reconsideration, which the Court denied via separate Minute Orders on December 19, 2006. Now before the Court are Defendants' Motion to Dismiss, or Alternatively, for Summary Judgment (Dkt.# 71) ("Defs. Mot."); Plaintiffs' Cross-Motion for Summary Judgment and Opposition to Defendants' Motion to Dismiss or for Summary Judgment (Dkt. # 74) ( ); and Plaintiffs' Motion to Include Additional Materials (Dkt. # 75). Upon consideration of the briefs, the relevant law and the entire record herein, the Court GRANTS defendants' motion to dismiss and DENIES plaintiffs' cross-motion for summary judgment.2
Pursuant to the Administrative Procedures Act ("APA"), plaintiffs seek judicial review of the FAA's decisions to deny the Albuquerque Center's requests to upgrade its classification from an air traffic control ("ATC") Level 10 to an ATC Level 11. Ultimately, plaintiffs want the FAA to pay them the higher salary associated with working at an air traffic control center classified as an ATC Level 11. For the following reasons, the Court will not reverse the FAA's classification decision.
The Department of Transportation Appropriations Act of 1996, Pub.L. No. 104-50, § 347, 109 Stat. 436 (1995), Pub.L. No. 104-122, § 1, 110 Stat. 876 (1996) ("DOT Act")4 directed the FAA Administrator to develop and implement a new personnel management system, which would put into effect a new compensation and classification system that would classify FAA facilities and determine the pay of the FAA workers at those facilities. Filebark v. U.S. Dep't of Transp., 468 F.Supp.2d 3, 4 n. 2 (D.D.C.2006) (Leon, J.) (citing 49 U.S.C. § 40122(g)). Congress directed that the "new system shall, at a minimum, provide for greater flexibility in the hiring, training, compensation, and location of personnel." 49 U.S.C § 40122(g)(1). Pursuant to this authorization, the FAA implemented the FAA Personnel Management System ("PMS") in March 1996. (See generally A.R. 2-31.) The PMS anticipated that the FAA and the National Air Traffic Controller Association ("NATCA") would continue working together to devise a compensation plan "that values job complexity and compensates the employees based on level of work performance." (A.R. 14.)
In July 1998, the FAA and NATCA reached an agreement on the new compensation system.5 (A.R. 133.) This system would transition the FAA from the GS system to the air traffic control ("ATC") system: the Position Classification Standard for Air Traffic Control Series ATC — 2152 Terminal and En Route ("PCS").6 (A.R. 136-204.) The PCS categorizes facilities based on traffic count, with classification levels ("ATC Level") ranging from ATC Level 3-12. (A.R. 313.) The FAA then compensates employees according to the ATC Level assigned to the facility at which they are employed. ATC Levels are assigned using a Classification Index ("CI"), which is calculated based on various factors, including traffic volume. See Todd v. United States, 56 Fed.Cl. 449, 450 (Fed.C1.2003), aff'd 386 F.3d 1091 (Fed.Cir. 2004); see also A.R. 313. The methodology for computing the CI is set forth in the PCS. (A.R. 180-81.) The FAA uses a software program, called Enroute Track Analysis Program or ETAP, to calculate traffic counts used to generate the CI. See Todd, 56 Fed.Cl. at 450-51. The CI required for a particular ATC Level is based on "break points" established by the FAA and NATCA.7
Recognizing that a facility's air traffic count might change over time, the PCS provides general guidelines for a facility to request an ATC Level upgrade. (See A.R. 193.) The FAA and NATCA refined the procedures for obtaining a facility upgrade in a November 15, 1999 Memorandum of Understanding with Respect to Reclassification and Associated Pay Rules Between the National Air Traffic Controllers Association and the Federal Aviation Administration ("November 1999 MOU"). (A.R. 205-08.) The November 1999 MOU delineates seven requirements a facility must meet to obtain an upgrade, including providing the facility's traffic count and CI calculation. (A.R. 206.) The final requirement is that "[t]he data will be validated at the Regional and/or National Level." (Id.)
If an employee or facility wishes to challenge a classification decision, the PCS delineates an Appeal Process to seek review of "[t]he way in which the classification standard is interpreted or applied at a specific facility." (A.R. 194). Pursuant to the Appeal Process, an individual employee may initiate an appeal, but only the Facility Manager and the NATCA Facility Representative are authorized to file the appeal. (Id.) Upon receipt of an appeal, a Classification Appeal Review Committee ("CARC"), consisting of a NATCA representative and an Air Traffic Management Representative, will be established; it will issue a written statement of findings within sixty days. (Id.) This decision is final and binding; no further appeal is permitted. (A.R. 195.) To the extent the CARC cannot reach a mutual decision, an appeal may be taken to the Classification Appeals Board ("CAB"). (Id.)
The FAA originally assigned the Albuquerque Center an ATC Level 10. The Albuquerque Center, however, has repeatedly requested an upgrade to an ATC Level 11. The Center's air traffic manager, Joan Mallen, initiated the Center's first upgrade request on June 7, 2000.8 (A.R. 302-04.) Although the request acknowledged that the Center's current CI was below the Level 11 break point, it attributed that to the erroneous exclusion of some Special Use Airspace traffic, such as military operations. (A.R. 302.) On September 6, the air traffic manager sent a complete application for an upgrade, which also requested "assistance in validating this data" pursuant to the terms of the November 1999 MOU. (A.R. 306-08, 308.)
The FAA denied Albuquerque Center's request on October 17, 2000. (A.R. 209.) It noted that until it completed the validation of ETAP, it would not run a CI for classification purposes. (Id.) The FAA also pointed out that the current year of traffic data on file indicated that the Center had not met the requirements for an upgrade. (Id.) The Albuquerque Center was encouraged to submit a new upgrade request once the ETAP validation was complete and it met the upgrade requirements. (Id.)
Subsequently, Todd, in his capacity as an Air Traffic Control Supervisor, sought to initiate an appeal of the FAA's decision. The Albuquerque Center's Facility Manager, Joan Mallen, declined to file the appeal. (Pis. Opp'n to Mot. to Dismiss [Dkt. # 27], Ex. 13, ¶ 11.) Undeterred, Todd also tried to lodge a complaint with the Merit Systems Protection Board ("MSPB"), but they declined to accept the grievance. (Id. ¶ 13.)
In 2001, however, the Albuquerque Center requested another upgrade. As part of this request, the National Validation Team ("NVT") conducted an audit of the Center in July 2001.9 (A.R. 265-300.) The NVT determined that "the facility has experienced adaptation problems between the HOST computer and ETAP that had an impact on the facilities (sic) classification index." (A.R. 265.) Once the adaptation problems were corrected during the validation process, the Center's CI was below the required breakpoint. (Id.) As a result, the Albuquerque Center's upgrade request was denied on September 26, 2001. (Id.)
In the interim, plaintiff Todd had filed a contract claim in the Court of Federal Claims in July 2001, seeking back pay on the grounds that the FAA's refusal to upgrade the Albuquerque Center's ATC Level violated the collective bargaining agreement between the FAA and the NATCA. See generally Todd v. United States, 56 Fed.Cl. 449 (Fed.C1.2003), aff'd, 386 F.3d 1091 (Fed.Cir.2004). The Federal Circuit upheld the dismissal of that case on October 5, 2004. See Todd v. United States, 386 F.3d 1091 (Fed.Cir.2004). Shortly thereafter, on December 22, 2004, plaintiffs sought leave to file an Amended Complaint adding Todd as a plaintiff to this action, but still seeking judicial review of the FAA's classification upgrade decisions.
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1) provides for dismissal of a complaint for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. Under Rule 12(b)(1), "the plaintiff bears the burden of establishing the factual predicates of jurisdiction by a preponderance of the evidence." Lindsey v. United States, 448 F.Supp.2d 37, 42 (D.D.C.2006) (quoting Erby v. United States, 424 F.Supp.2d 180, 182 (D.D.C.2006)). "The [C]ourt, in turn, has an affirmative obligation to ensure that it is acting within the scope of its jurisdictional authority." Id. at 42-43 (alteration in original) (quoting Abu Ali v. Gonzales, 387 F.Supp.2d 16, 17 (D.D.C.2005)).
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